Personalized Welcome Makes New Residents Feel Welcome

Like most of Pinellas County’s 23 municipalities, Belleair Fl has a “New Resident Information” link on its website. At the same time, they distribute hard copies every two years. In the last three months, fifty-three properties sold in Belleair. They are leaving new residents uninformed and unwelcome. Dong little to improve community involvement. Belleair Beach and the Buffs offer hard copies of this information you can pick up at city hall. Belleair Shore doesn’t provide much for a new resident.

Towns want more participation from residents. In the first half of 2023 alone, 82 properties got sold in Belleair. A potential pool of 200 new residents. Why not target new residents with a simple personalized welcome letter? A greeting letter is an affordable method to boost community engagement, create an instant connection, and make new residents feel like they are part of the community.

A Personalized Town Welcome Letter

Above all the letter could invite newcomers to a Town Hall meeting allowing them to connect with town officials and get familiarized with City Hall.  For instance, it could tell them about the town website, links to important details, and town services. You could include a short, tailored, one-page questionnaire that newer residents would likely fill out, resulting in needed data—a better way to gain feedback than surveys. Although the New Residents guide offers fundamental town information, the fact it’s mailed out every two years may cause new residents to be uninformed and does nothing to increase community engagement.

A town official got back to me. Saying, “I really appreciate your suggestion about personalized welcome letters for new residents. And a first for me, I personally think that is a very smart idea. I will bring this up with our administration team, as we have been looking for new ideas regarding the resident information guide and engaging our community. We will definitely consider your idea as we continue these discussions.